Taupo & Rotorua & Hobbiton

Are you having a hectic or bad day? Llamas are an instant pick-me-up! They are such happy creatures (though Sydney tells me they sometimes spit on you). Doesn't it look like this llama is smiling? We were smiling, too! 

The llama took a selfie. 

Yesterday (April 18th) we went to the Lilliput Farm Fun & Animal Park in the morning. We have been doing adrenaline-rush-provoking activities since we got here, so we thought it was time to do something a little more relaxing. What could be more relaxing than an animal park where you can pet and feed adorable animals? 

Sydney's mom asked her if Isabelle and I were going to the animal park just to make her happy. The truth is, the animals made us pretty happy as well. 

I made a lot of new friends yesterday thanks to this bucket of food pellets. 

I had them eating out of the palm of my hand (literally). 

"Say what? You used food to lure me over to take a selfie?" Yes, yes, I did. 

Isabelle and Sydney became pretty popular as well. 

The runner up for cutest farm animal was this adorable sheep. Look at how content it looks with its head in the fence. It reminds me of a stuffed animal I have; my fluffy sheep named Ulla (which means Wooly in Norwegian). Poor Ulla, she didn't get to come traveling with me. 

There were lots of different animals on the farm: bunnies, cats, horses, goats, pigs, emus, and lots of birds. They were all pretty friendly (except for the goats that tried to eat Sydney's hair). We were a little skeptical of this pig... I think he felt the same way. 

Invasion of the duckies.

We regret not getting this miniature horse as a souvenir. It would be a great way to get to and from class at Macquarie, wouldn't it?

Pretty sure this park is meant for little kids... But we still had a good time!

As summer is approaching in the Northern Hemisphere, autumn and winter are the seasons of the Southern Hemisphere. In other words, don't expect me to be too tan when I come home in July. 

After getting our cute-animal-fix, we went to the thermal pools at Taupo DeBretts. We initially were going to splurge and get some spa treatments, but it turned out they were fully booked all day. Oh well... That saved our student budgets some money! The thermal pools were relaxing enough. They had two big mineral pools outside with small waterfalls and hydrotherapy spots, in addition to 12 small, indoor private pools you could go to. The water in the pools ranged from 38-40Celsius/100.4-104Fahrenheit. 

While we were soaking in the outside pool, we met a little girl around 10 years old. She was adorable, and looked just like a younger, more freckled Sydney. She was from NZ, and was there with her family on vacation. She went on to tell us about how her twin sister was just playing on the slide, and wouldn't play with her. When Isabelle said that she always wanted a twin when she was younger, our new little friend said she wouldn't recommend having one. Sydney asked her if the two of them are similar. To which she replied "Well, we share a bedroom, and both of us like blue. We don't like pink. I guess we're similar". Kids are so cute. 

The place itself wasn't the fanciest. I think we were all expecting something more along the lines of the Blue Lagoon in Iceland. However, it was still very nice to just sit and soak in minerals for a bit. Our skin feels silky smooth after just one visit (placebo effect, perhaps?).

Yesterday was Good Friday. That meant that places added an additional "public holiday surcharge". Also, you couldn't buy an alcoholic beverage without buying a full meal. Interesting! I guess a Norwegian can't complain about weird rules like that. It's kind of like the pot calling the kettle black. 

We had an amazing lunch at Dixie Brown's, followed by coffee in a park area. We had a great view of Lake Taupo. Unfortunately, no cliff diving allowed here.  

Our next stop on our adventure was Rotorua, located approx 80km/50miles from Taupo. The weather fluctuates quite a bit here; one minute it will be sunny, the next it's raining heaps. Very unpredictable. It seems that every time we have to get out of the car with all stuff, it starts pouring. No exception yesterday. Lots and lots of rain! 

A rotten egg-y smell greeted us when we drove in to odoriferous Rotorua. Nothing like the smell of sulfur to welcome you to the city! The abundant geothermal activity from the geysers, hot pools, and mud pools are what causes the town to smell. 

We checked in to a 6 bed dorm at the Rotorua Downtown Backpackers. The receptionist, Kat, was super helpful. We got to Rotorua around 5:30pm, and were trying to find something fun to do. Everything was either fully booked, closed, or unsuitable for rainy weather. Sooo... We went to another movie. We couldn't just sit in our dorm staring at the wall. Rather, we walked 10 minutes from our hostel, and paid money to stare at a screen and see the movie Noah. 

We got up early this morning to check out, and get on the road. I feel the coffee cup reflected our need for more sleep. 

Today was the day when we were finally going to go Zorbing. We had been looking forward to this since we booked our tickets. 

Zorbing is pretty simple; you just climb into a big inflated ball and roll down a hill. It may sound strange (it is), but it was SO fun. The plastic ball is double walled, so the "zorbonaut" doesn't get hurt. One can choose between the dry version (zorbonaut is harnessed it), or the hydro version (water is put inside the zorb and the zorbonaut can slide around). We chose the hydro version for two reasons: 1) rolling down a hill in a ball going upside down a lot would likely make us nauseous, and 2) if we did the hydro version we could all go in the same zorb. 

You could chose between three different courses:Fast Lane, Zig Zag, and Drop. We only did the Fast Lane because we thought it would be more fun to go together. 

To get in the zorb, you literally have to run and dive in. It looks so ridiculous when people run, dive, and disappear in the zorb, it feels even more ridiculous when you're the one diving in. 

After our first ride down, we decided the one trip just wasn't enough. Round 2, here we come! 

We went to see the geysers at Te Puia, but quickly realized that we didn't feel like spending $50 on the entrance fee. It would have been worth it if we were going to take advantage of the tours they offered, but we really just wanted to pop in, see the geysers, and pop out. No geysers for us... 

Kiwis (a nickname for people from NZ) are extremely friendly and helpful. I didn't think Australians could be beat on the friendliness-scale, but I think perhaps the Kiwis surpass them a little. After we decided not to go in to Te Puia, a guy that worked there came over and told us about Redwoods Forest, a beautiful place where you can go hiking. He said this would be perfect for us; he noticed we were wearing athletic clothes (the same clothes we've been wearing the past week...). So off we went to the Redwoods Forest! 

It wasn't too far from the city center, and there were lots of different trails. It we had known about this place, we probably would've planned for a longer hike. We went on the Waitawa Walk, which was only about a 40 minute walk. 

The trail was clearly marked, along with signs telling us not to litter and to "love our trees".

Syndey, Isabelle, and I always obey the signs that are posted. We love the trees! 

It was such a beautiful area, and we were so happy the guys told us about this place. 

There were mostly fir trees in the forest, but we also saw the occasional palm tree here and there. 

After our great walk in the forest, we headed to Hobbiton to visit the famous movie set. We were originally going to stay another night in Rotorua and go there in the morning. However, due to the lack of vacancy in any hostels/hotels in Rotorua, we had to get moving. It was a beautiful drive. 

The 12-acre Hobbiton movie set was created by filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson to depict the homes of the hobbits. It is a major tourist attraction for film fans and tourists. 

I'm not the biggest fan of the Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, but I must say... It felt good to be hobbity for a few hours. There is a total of 44 little hobbit holes in Hobbiton, and all are dug into the hillside. Hobbit gardens and orchards surround the little holes. 

Me being hobbity, and chopping wood (I guess hobbits need to chop wood, too). 

Sydney was naturally very hobbity, and immediately knew what to do with the broom. 

Gorgeous surroundings, indeed. I feel the urge to watch all the movies now. I think I've only seen the two first Lord of the Rings movies, and that's it. I read the book when I was in 7th grade though. 

The Hobbiton tour was great (albeit a little pricey at $75 per person). Our guide had lots of fun facts for us (none of which I can remember in my current sleepy state, unfortunately...). 

We drove to Hamilton after our tour. This was the only place we could find a place to stay. As the Easter holiday is a busy time of the year, we went for a room at a nice 4-star hotel instead of a hostel (this was really our only option). Luckily, it was only about $50 per person, so that's not too bad. We'll survive! 

When we checked in to the Hamilton City Oaks hotel, we got a big surprise: our room was HUGE! This panoramic pic doesn't accurately depict how big this room is. There's one king size bed, two twin beds, a tv, a desk, and even a dining table with three chairs! 

Isabelle and Sydney were very excited about our room (and the fact that they could belly flop onto the beds without the chance of hitting a top bunk). 

Tomorrow we're driving to Auckland, and returning the car. In fear of jinxing it, I must say, I'm amazed at how well it has gone driving on the opposite side of the road. You get used to it very quickly! Tomorrow will be our last day with Bertha. It will be sad to let her go, but I'm sure she'll be a great help to some other travelers. 

Okay, this post has been long enough (if not too long). Time to call it a break. Good night from Hamilton!"

Love, 

Suzy